Renowned electric car manufacturer, Tesla’s latest earnings call revealed that its Bitcoin bag remains untouched. It is the company fifth consecutive quarter without any changes, despite fluctuating crypto markets.
As of September 30, 2023, Tesla hold on to digital assets valued at $184 million. They are a part of its initial $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase in March 2021.
What’s Tesla’s strategy?
The recent quarterly results reveal a steadfast strategy; Tesla has neither bought nor sold any Bitcoin since its massive sell-off in Q2 2022, when it offloaded 75% of its holdings, reaping a substantial $936 million from over 30,000 BTC.
On the other hand, Tesla has made significant strides in exploring the potential artificial intelligence. The company announced that it has more than doubled its computing capacity for AI projects.
It highlights the expansion of training data and the transition of its humanoid robot Optimus to AI systems.
We have commissioned one of the world’s largest supercomputers to accelerate the pace of our AI development, with compute capacity more than doubling compared to Q2
Tesla’s Q3 2023 earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates, with reported revenues of $23.35 billion. These numbers are slightly below numbers released by institutions like Zacks Investment Research’s projected. They projected Tesla’s revenue for this quarter to be $24.38 billion.
Tesla’s operating expenses for the third quarter reached $2.41 billion, representing a notable increase from the previous quarter and a substantial 42.5% rise from the prior year. Research and development expenses surged to $1.16 billion in the quarter, reflecting a 58% jump year-over-year, attributed to Tesla’s commitment to projects like the Cybertruck and AI development.
Tesla’s stock price reacted to the financial results, with shares declining nearly 4.8% to close at $242.68, and a further 4.25% drop in after-hours trading to $232.37, according to Google Finance data.
Tesla’s Bitcoin timeline
In 2022, Tesla estimated its Bitcoin holdings at $1.26 billion but later sold 75% of its holdings for approximately $936 million. It still retained digital assets worth $222 million on its balance sheet.
Tesla’s revealed in February 2023 that the company took losses of over $140 million due to its Bitcoin investments. The losses were from an impairment charge of $204 million and gains of $64 million from converting Bitcoin into fiat currency.
Its initial $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin in 2021, made it one of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin fluctuated in value, resulting in a $43 million loss in the final quarter of 2022. Tesla’s love for its Bitcoin holdings continues to be a topic of interest for every crypto enthusiast.
